Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 7-21-17

Local
Commissioners Vote To Remove Confederate Statue
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Wednesday morning, more than 200 people filled the chambers of the Hills- borough County Commis- sioners Boardroom. They were there to voice their opinions on the removal of a controversial Confederate Statue located in downtown Tampa.
The meeting began at 9 a.m., and concluded after 2 p.m. In the final analysis, the Commissioners voted 4-2 to remove the statue.
Commissioner Les Miller, Jr., led the cam- paign to remove the statue. He was supported by Com- missioners Al Higgin- botham, Pat Kemp, and Sandy Murman supported
his vote.
Commissioners Stacy White and Ken Hagan voted to keep the statue in place. Commissioner Vic- tor Crist did not attend the meeting.
More than 100 people, representing all walks of life, and different nationalities signed up to voice their opin- ions about the statue. The speakers represented clergy, business owners, organiza- tions, and average citizens.
Commissioner Miller
said, “It is going to be moved. A group from the Brandon area owns a private cemetery and said they would take it. The County will store it until it can be moved. The bottom line is, it will be moved.
He further said, “This was not about racial issues.
CONFEDERATE STATUE
... Erected in 1911 by United Daughters of the Confederacy
We cannot erase history from slavery to Jim Crow era, but times have changed.
LES MILLER, JR. Hillsborough County Commissioner
We are not trying to erase history. It’s about doing the right thing.”
Commissioner Miller
said moving the statue will not be an easy task. “We are not going to be able to just lay it on the back of a truck and drive away. It is huge and might have to be dis- mantled.”
Last month, Commis- sioners White, Hagan, Murman and Crist voted to keep the statue in place. After that vote, Mayor Bob Buckhorn issued the fol- lowing statement: “There is no honor in treason and there is no valor in enslaving
people because of their race. That statue represents the worst of humanity, not the Tampa we aspire to be. This decision doesn’t speak for our city or the people that I represent.”
For weeks, the issue of the statue divided the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County. Organizations such as the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with local elected offi- cials and Civil Rights leaders called for the removal of the statue.
In an article printed last week, Commissioner Crist seemed to have a change of heart about the statue. He said the statue would be moved, but the problem was finding some- place to put it. He had sug- gested relocating it to either of two cemeteries in Tampa. However, that idea was shot down when Mayor Buck- horn said, “As long as I’m Mayor, there will not be a Confederate statue on any city-owned property.”
The statue was installed in front of the old Hillsbor- ough County Courthouse in 1911.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2017